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When Derek McDowell first found out that he couldn't donate blood because he had had sex with another man, the realization struck him like a "slap in the face," he said.

"It was frustrating because I felt like it was an unfair stigma to think that all gay or bisexual men have some sort of disease because they are gay or bisexual," said the 20-year-old Purdue student. "People who have had (a higher number) of sex partners could donate blood and we couldn't."

Although that was about two years ago, McDowell has not forgotten the sting, which gave him all the more reason to become a volunteer with the National Gay Blood Drive and help bring the two-year-old grassroots movement to Lafayette for the first time Friday.

This year, the Indiana Blood Center in Lafayette is the state target. The center, which has donation sites throughout the state, is not affiliated with the movement.

Lucy Wehking, spokeswoman for Indiana Blood Center, said the center has to comply with all policies created by the FDA, the regulating agency for all blood centers in the United States.

"It's not our initiative … however, we are complying," she said. "We've opened the lines of communication, (but) we are not actively supporting the event."

The FDA considers men who have had sex with other men (MSM) at any time since 1977 high-risk for infectious diseases that can be transmitted by blood transfusion such as HIV, the virus that causes AIDs, and hepatitis B.

They are currently deferred as blood donors indefinitely. The current policy has been in place since 1992 but the reasoning dates back to 1983 when the risk of AIDs from transfusion was first recognized.

The federal agency argues that its policy is based on documented evidence and not on sexual orientation.

However, the national organizers want the FDA to shift the policy's focus from sexual orientation to individual high-risk behaviors.

Ryan James Yezak, a Los Angeles based filmaker and activist, is one of the lead organizers of the gay blood drive.

The organizers are encouraging gay and bisexual men to visit designated blood donation centers across the nation Friday to attempt to donate. However, since they will be deferred, they are being asked to bring a proxy who can donate in their stead.

Wehking said the center is open Friday during normal operation hours, (7 a.m. to 4 p.m.) and will take blood from "anyone who is eligible."

So far, McDowell has recruited 10 people to donate blood locally, he said.